Friday, July 13, 2012

Bliss Bombs...


Forrest Gump lives in our house. 

He takes off every Sunday morning and runs, and runs, and runs. Usually around 20-30kms 
During the week he runs home from work. Its about 8-10kms, depending on where he decides to detour. Its taken him 3 years to get to this point, and along the way, he has modified his diet somewhat to help his stamina and recovery. Some 'new' foods and ingredients that have found their way onto my pantry include chia seeds and bran, agave nectar, coconut oil, spirulina, raw cacao and various flours such as lupin, barley and oat.

Its taken me a while, but I have come to embrace this change and try to accommodate it as part of the family's diet. I have come to substitute ingredients - mostly in my baking - to include some of these ingredients. I figure if its good enough for the athlete it must be just as good for the rest of us. 

What you see pictured is an accident of mine, borne of a botched effort to make muesli bars. I call them "Bliss Bombs" More of an effort to get the kids to try it, rather than any ethereal, out-of-body experience that the name might suggest. That said, they are absolutely delicious and moreish (much to my surprise) and uses up the fresh almond meal leftover from when Forrest makes almond milk. 

Here is the recipe. Oh, and don't be tempted to add too much extra spirulina - that stuff stinks.

2 cups organic oats
2 1/2 cups fresh almond meal
1/3 cup agave nectar
1/3 cup coconut oil, melted gently if it has solidified
1/4 cup raw cacao powder
2 teaspoons spirulina
1/4 cup chia seeds
pinch of sea salt
20 pitted dates, chopped in half.

Combine all ingredients except the dates in a large bowl and mix well to combine. Roll into walnut sized balls with a piece of date wedged inside.
Bake at 160oC for around 10-15 minutes. 

Let me know what you think. Whats been cooking in YOUR kitchen lately?

Home for the holidays..

And so, we are at the halfway point of our winter school holidays. Its been busy, and I've enjoyed every minute of it. I've noticed suddenly, how quickly my kids are growing up - because its been so much easier having them around all day, after getting used to having them be at school all day! 


We've cooked, painted, kicked the footy around, rode our bikes everywhere, snuggled on the couch for some midday TV (because we can) and have lots more planned for the rest of the holidays. I want to stop time and stay this way forever.


How are your holidays panning out?


The view from Herdsman Lake
Stopping for a breather - its 8 kms round trip!

Lily decides to cook dinner - Meatballs and spaghetti. She even made her own breadcrumbs.

Proud as punch of the finished product, and so she should be. It was scrumptious!

And fixin' some bruschetta the next night, her favourite dish.

Doesn't that look like a mighty fine plate?